Real Vampires Live Large (24 page)

“Are you kidding me? Does Simon really look like that?” I gave myself a few seconds to live the fantasy. He could suck my belly button, my ear, my big toe for all I cared. Hey, he'd played a vampire in a movie. If Brad really was one . . .

“Snap out of it, Glory. Of course he doesn't really look like that. You've just seen one of the powers an EV has. He can delve into your mind, find your secret fantasy and make you believe you've found it.” Richard ground his teeth like maybe he'd hoped
he'd
been Flo's secret fantasy. “He doesn't even have to shape-shift to do it.”

“Kind of like the whammy then. With a twist.”

“The twist is Flo's been brainwashed. She sees what she wants to see when she looks at Simon.”

“So if I met Simon, he'd look like Johnny Depp?”
Chocolat
Johnny, not
Pirates
or, shudder,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Johnny.

Richard snorted. “If that's
your
fantasy.”

“Cool. I mean that conniving bastard.” Wow. No wonder Flo was so hot and heavy with Simon. Her two favorite hunks were Patrick Swayze in
Dirty Dancing
and Brad Pitt in anything.

“Let's go downstairs.”

“Wait.” I held onto Richard, stopping him at the door. “What are we going to do about Flo?”

“Leave her to sleep it off. I doubt she'll wake up until tomorrow night. Then you, me, Damian . . .” He shook his head. “Oh, hell, I'm not sure she's going to listen to any of us. Once you've got a taste for the Vampire Viagra, it's almost impossible to give it up. I've seen it before. The withdrawal is a bitch.”

“We need to warn Derek about that too. He and Freddy know most of the paranormals in Austin. Maybe we should call a meeting, spread the word.” Blade usually headed up vamp meetings. I suddenly wanted him beside me with an ache that made me grab my stomach again. Damn that Westwood. Why'd he have to run all the way to Africa?

“A meeting is a good idea. But if the EVs get wind of it, they're not going to like your interference.”

“As if I give a rat's ass what they like. And what about this king? Simon? Can all the EVs do the Brad Pitt whammy or is he something special?” I dug in my purse for my keys and locked the door once we were out in the hall.

“Simon Destiny.” Richard shrugged. “Stupid name. Not his real one, of course. Special? Obviously women under his influence think so. I met him once and I wasn't impressed. Of course he didn't turn into Beyoncé for me either.”

I stopped and gave him a look. “Beyoncé?” Could he have picked a woman more opposite from me? Tall, dark, with a body to die for versus short, blond and a body . . .

“Gotcha.” Richard grinned for the first time all evening.

I muttered a comment on his parentage and Richard actually chuckled. Finally, almost at the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and turned me to face him, serious again.

“Simon's not going to want to give Flo up. Not till he's ready to discard her. And he's got to appear to be a strong leader. He can't risk angering Honoria.”

“Too damn bad.” Florence da Vinci discarded? This was so not like my roomie, always the power in any relationship. I wanted to run up and hug her, then wake her and try to reason with her again.

“You can't reason with her, Glory. She thinks she's hooked Brad Pitt when Simon actually . . .” Richard put his hands on my shoulders. “I call him Simon the snake. He's got the look of a reptile, complete with a forked tongue.”

“Oh, God! I didn't want to hear that.” I leaned against Richard for a moment. “We've got to help Flo understand how dangerous this is.” I inhaled Richard and thought about how nice it was to feel his arms around me. Yeah, I'm an independent woman, but centuries of male companionship have left me with a case of attention deficit disorder. Male attention, got to have it. With Blade gone, Richard was doing nicely.

I sighed and pushed back. I'd blocked that weak female moment from Richard and he was frowning at me, like he was afraid I'd go off on my own and do something dangerous to get Simon to leave Flo alone. Fat chance. If Simon turned into Johnny Depp for me, I'd probably hop on the altar and hand him the straw myself.

We headed to the shop. Outside, I appreciated the cold air on my face before I unlocked the back door. Inside, the dogs were on high alert. I'm sure Valdez at least could tell I was upset about something. Even Derek lost the twinkle in his eyes when he saw our faces. No customers. So we filled Derek in. He was on his cell phone before we finished. He and Frederick decided to call a vamp meeting. At Freddy's house.

As soon as she heard what they were talking about, CiCi refused to leave home. I didn't blame her. A fortress would be nice right now. With a moat, hungry alligators and rabid bats circling overhead.

I waited on a few customers while Derek and Richard powwowed in the back. I couldn't quit thinking about Flo. She'd acted so unlike the powerful roomie who'd painted strange things on my wall and taught me my best vamp moves. Hell, she hadn't even asked me about the TV interview or, gasp, the Louboutin pumps. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt though. Maybe she'd never bothered to check her messages.

By the time Lacy came in, I was beyond exhausted, mentally and physically. I trudged up the stairs a few minutes before dawn, arguing with Richard that he didn't need to sleep on my couch. Then I saw the door to the apartment. Wide open.

I leaped over Valdez and ran down the hall to Flo's bedroom. I threw open the door. She was gone.

I was just going through Flo's closet to see if she'd taken any clothes with her when my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse I'd dumped on the floor in my panic. I didn't even bother to look at the caller ID.

“Flo? Is that you?”

“Gloriana, you really need to check your e-mail. I'm waiting to hear from you.”

I snapped the phone shut and threw it across the room.

“Who the hell was that?” Richard dug the phone out of Flo's comforter and held it out to me. “Obviously not Florence. ”

“You don't want to know.”

“Yes, I do.” Richard was right beside me in a heartbeat. He put his hand on my back. “You're even more upset than when you saw Florence had taken off.”

“Taken off or been kidnapped?” I sank on the side of the messy bed. “She didn't take any clothes that I can see. Not even shoes.” I gestured toward the usually neatly stacked shoeboxes. Flo is nothing if not meticulous about her wardrobe. And a creature of habit. If she wore a pair of shoes, she set the box on top with the lid off. The only empty shoe-box was from the pair she'd worn out of here last night. The pair she
wasn't
wearing when she got home. And then there was the Manolo with the broken heel, the box with its mate casually dumped on the closet floor. Flo
really
hadn't been herself.

Richard sat beside me and my phone rang again.

“Don't answer that.” I grabbed the phone and shut it off.

“Who's bothering you? Surely you would talk to Blade.”

“It's not Jerry.” I felt tears welling and blinked them back. “It's Westwood. He started calling me. After I sent him that e-mail.” I took a shaky breath. “I think he has a crush on me. I should probably play along, try to get information for Jerry, but I just . . . can't.”

“Bloody hell!” Richard grabbed my phone and ran through the menu. “He left you a message.” He put the phone to his ear, his frown becoming a cold, stony rage that scared me, even though I knew he wasn't mad at
me
.

“The bastard won't get away with this. We need to change your number for one thing. This is harassment.”

“No kidding. But I won't change my number. I should get up my nerve and see what I can find out from him. Jerry thinks Westwood may have left Africa. He needs to know where the hunter's going next.” I didn't have to listen to know what the message said. Westwood had stuck to one theme, how lovely my dental work would look on the chain around his neck. Or maybe he'd start a charm bracelet. For a future bride. He was thinking of marrying, he owed the world a passel of kids with his superior gray matter. She'd have to be human, of course, and any woman he got serious about would hate vampires as much as he did.

“He's a sicko. I don't know how he made billions.” I pushed off the bed and walked back into the living room. Valdez and Will studied me worriedly.

“What's up with Flo?”
Valdez nudged my hip.

“I don't know, puppy.” I sat down on the couch and put my feet on the coffee table. I got a good look at my Ferragamo slingbacks. Flo had helped me pick them out during a half-price sale. I burst into tears. “I don't know.” Noisy sobs. How humiliating, but I couldn't stop them.

“Good God, Glory, I'd hoped you weren't one of those weepy females.” Will bumped my foot. “Flo's tough, she'll be okay.”

Richard handed me a towel, though I don't remember him going into the bathroom to get it. I blotted my cheeks and sniffled until I felt like I had the waterworks under control.

“Sorry, guys. I guess I'm on sensory overload. Between Westwood, the EVs and Flo, I feel like I've got a full plate.” Another tear ran down my cheek and I wiped it away. Full plate. Stupid. I couldn't even eat a bag of Cheetos without suffering stomach cramps that would have made the Marquis de Sade whimper.

“I doubt Flo was kidnapped.” Richard was up again, prowling around the apartment. “She wanted to be with Simon. I'm sure she woke up from her nap and decided to go back to the EV compound.”

“Without her
shoes
?” My voice rose and I jumped to my feet. “Damn it, Richard. Didn't you learn anything about my roommate while you were sleeping with her?”

Richard shrugged and I wanted to slap him. “We didn't exactly get together to talk. I never had much conversation with the woman.”

“Well, ‘the woman' is my best friend. I'm worried about her and I'm going to do something about it.” I stalked into Flo's bedroom and grabbed my purse.

“Where the hell do you think you're going? It's almost dawn.” Richard grabbed my arm, jerking me to a halt.

“Nowhere. I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. But first”—I dragged a phone out of my purse—“I'm going to make a call.”

“Not Westwood.” Richard grabbed for the phone, but I used a vamp move to dodge him.

“Nope. This isn't my phone, it's Greg Kaplan's. And I just bet . . .” I scrolled through his address book. Lots of women. A guy named Lucky and, oh, yes, Simon. I punched the button and heard the phone start ringing.

“Hello.”

“Flo?”

“Yes.” I heard a big sigh. “I'm okay, Glory. Simon saw this number on the caller ID and made me answer.”

“
Made
you answer. Are you sure you're all right?” I shoved at Richard who tried to grab the phone again. Of course he was practically breathing down my neck, listening too.

“I'm fine. I just decided I had to come back here. I left my new Calvin Klein stretch suede boots. So foolish of me. I shifted into my favorite bird and flew right out here.” She laughed and I heard a male voice in the background. “I know, I know. It's too close to dawn for me to leave now. So I stay. You go to sleep and quit worrying about me. Tell Richard too. Simon is taking good care of me. I'm fine.”

“Flo—”

She'd hung up.

"What do you think?” I snapped the phone shut and looked at Richard.

“I'd say she's in no danger yet. Obviously Simon is enjoying her company and she's no worse for wear if she had enough power left to shape-shift.” He gestured and I gave him Greg's phone. “Let me look at this. I'll see what I can find out from these numbers.” Richard was looking as exhausted as I felt. Valdez and Will had settled on either side of the door, Will obviously out like a light.

“Tomorrow.” I took the phone and set it on the coffee table. “You want to crash on Flo's bed?”

“I'd rather crash on yours.” Richard ran his hand across my cheek to my ear. “Just sleep. Too close to dawn for anything else.”

I knew it wasn't a good idea to sleep in the same bed with him. And I sure wasn't in the mood for sex with anyone, not even Richard who was looking really good to me. Kind of like Spike on
Buffy
good. Have you seen his calendar?

“Fine. But you're sleeping in your clothes.” Silly. We'd both be dead to the world as soon as the sun hit the horizon which, according to my body clock, was about three minutes from now. Hey, we both needed to lighten up after all this angst.

Richard played along, though he was obviously still worried. “And what are you sleeping in?”

“You'll see.” I strutted to my bedroom and slammed the door. Sexless or sexy? I rummaged in a drawer until I found the perfect thing. By the time I opened the door again, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

“Come to bed, Richard.”

He laughed, a full-throated belly laugh that made me smile. Who knew this intense, complicated man could laugh until he cried. I liked him even more, especially when he brushed past me, just close enough for me to feel his interest. The man was obviously insane. He'd have to be to make a pass at a woman in
Smurfs
footie pajamas.

Sixteen

I was hot, stifling, and I couldn't wiggle my toes. My arms were weighed down, pinned to the bed. Not fair. Not with Johnny Depp just inches away and snoring softly. I wanted to wake him with a surprise. Me, wrapped in nothing but my birthday suit.